Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year's celebration that includes Edinburgh's famous torchlight procession.
Edinburgh Hogmanay is a multi-day festival centered on December 31 and January 1. Its events have included a large torchlight procession through the city, outdoor concerts, street parties, and a midnight fireworks display near Edinburgh Castle. The exact program can change from year to year, but the festival is one of Scotland's most internationally recognized New Year's events.
The word “Hogmanay” refers to New Year's Eve or the New Year season in Scots. Its customs developed through a mixture of Scottish, northern European, and Christian winter traditions. First-footing, in which the first person to enter a home after midnight brings symbolic gifts, remains a well-known Scottish custom.
Hogmanay is not the name of a particular fireworks show or a Scottish national holiday unrelated to New Year. Burns Night, by contrast, honors poet Robert Burns on January 25.